Life is Full of Surprises
by Marcy Bayd
Summary: DEWEY HAS A SON! but will he find out in time? how will the band accept him? to find out ya better read!
1. Default Chapter

**disclaimer: i dont own the school of rock or "are you gonna be my girl?" by Jet.**

A small brown haired, brown eyed boy, around the age of thirteen, walks up a flight pf stairs and then another and another until he comes to FLOOR 9 of the apartment building in which he lives. He stops in front of the big green door with a 9 on it and takes out his key ring.

His mother gave it to him on his first day of school when he was three years old with a keychain small picture frame with a picture of both of them smiling at a photo booth camera. The ring shows signs of maturing since he keeps all his old key chains, one per year. The first one on the chain that he placed is a plastic Barney, the next a dinosaur, then Spiderman, then a robot, then a new Spiderman, an electric guitar, a Sum 41 key chain, a drumstick, a skateboard, and his newest one is a new picture of him and his two friends (after they got their first—and only—gig).

He finds the door key and slips it through the hole and turns. The door opens and he trudges down the hall. His shoes squeak with every step. To add to the noise he trips on his jean pants leg and falls with a crash. Quickly he stands up again as if he did nothing wrong and continues down the carpeted hall. He reaches his door and slips in another key and steps through.

He drops his backpack full of patches symbolizing rock groups and bands and signs on the floor by the door and then his extra lunch money on the table. He stops for a moment and then flings off his shoes letting them fly across the room and creating a brief moment of noise on the dark side of the room. He flicks on the lights. Then he walks to the answering machine and pushes the blinking red button.

"You have one message," a robotic voice says.

The ring tones and a voice comes on," Hey sweetie, I'm gonna be home a teeny bit late today, so you can make a sandwich or Mac & cheese if you'd like... Call me if you need me, ok? I love you." _Beeeeeeeeeep._

He sighs and picks up the phone hanging from the wall. He dials a number and puts it to his ear and waits. "Hello, it's Murph, is my ma there?" He asks and then waits. "Yeah I'll wait... Ma? Ma it's me... no nothings wrong... I just wanted to say hi... oh you're busy... sorry, but Ma... ma? Just wanted to ask what time you're coming home... I know later, but when later? You don't know... sorry, for bugging you... ok, I'm not sorry..." He smiles." ... Oh you got someone to cover for you... cool... bye then...I love you too... bye." He imitates a sloppy squishy kiss and then hangs up.

He turns around and then locks the top lock on the big grey door. Once this is done he pads across the carpeted floor and into the small kitchen. He steps onto the cold plastic-like floor with designs of tiles on it and goes to a duck-walk position and opens a cupboard. He searches through the many boxes of cereals; Cocoa Puffs, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, and then pulls out the Chex Mix, considers his choice and then puts it back into the cupboard and takes out the Trix instead. The floppy eared white rabbit is depicted on the box and is drawn looking as if it is trying to reach the bowl of delicious looking fruity cereal.

"Poor thing still is trying to get those damned fruity bits," he laughs and then throws the box onto the counter behind him and then in a quick movement, hauls himself onto the counter in front of him.

The kitchen is no more than a small chunk of a hall way with a dead end after five steps into it. On each of the long sides there are tile counters with cupboards above and below them. Dug into on of the counters is a sink with a swinging door cabinet under it where the trash can is. Then, across from the sink is an old oven and stove with a microwave hanging over it. The fridge is at the dead end of the kitchen. It is divided down the middle horizontally separating the fridge from the freezer. Over the white surface of the fridge are all sorts of magnets and photos; it's like a collage.

He flips himself around to a sitting position on the counter and then opens the cupboard to the right of his head. Without turning, he pulls out a big blue bowl and then places it carefully on the tip of his foot. Then he closes the cupboard and with a swift movement tosses the bowl from his foot and onto the counter across from his next to the cereal box. Then he jumps like a cat back onto his feet and then slides to the fridge. He swings the door flying open and then grabs the carton of milk which he does not hurtle onto the counter but instead holds it tenderly while he pads back to the counter where his meal awaits. Once he places the milk carton onto the counter next to the cereal and bowl he lifts his leg up and shuts the fridge door while opening the cereal box.

Once he has poured the cereal and the milk he grabs the full bowl and slowly moves out of the kitchen and back onto the carpet trying not to slosh the milk so far up that it will spill over the side. He walks over to the table which is right across from the kitchen and is next to the door and drops the bowl onto it causing splatters of milk to drip over the sides. He then jabs his color changing spoon when dipped in milk (compliments of sending in three box tops to a cereal company) into the milk subdued cereal chunks and eats away at it ravenously.

The phone rings on the wall next to the table and above the little answering machine resting on the floor. He swallows the bite of food and then races over to it and shoves it against his ear. "Hey this is Murph," He says in a dull tone.

"Hey, kido!" A voice says over the telephone.

Murph smiles widely and excitement fills his eyes, even though he'd never admit it. "Dad!" _I can give him one more chance. One more chance to care about me. _He thinks.

"Hey is your ma there?"

The smile lessens but still remains. "No, but Dad—"

"Tell her I called would ya?" He says caringly and quickly.

"K, but Dad—." Murph tries to get out.

"I got to go if she's not there, I love you big guy."

"But dad—."He starts to whine a little.

"If she's not there I really got to go," He says getting a little annoyed and then blows a kiss and hangs up.

Murph frowns and leans against the wall still holding the telephone to his ear. Suddenly his eyes start to water slightly and he throws the phone across the room and into the wall. "I'm here!" He bawls and then races away and down the solitary hallway that leads first to his small room and then to his mother's and before that his bathroom.

He jumps onto his bed in a crash and then scurries back to the door and locks it shut. "I hate him! Good for nothing father!" He shouts angrily and kicks the door violently until a chip of paint flutters to the ground. He stops and shuts his eyes close and takes deep breaths while rubbing his cheeks. "Damn him!" He mutters and then clasps his hands together in a praying mode. "Oh God of war!" He exclaims in a sarcastic tone. "Let the enemy of the army my father's in attack with all its might and send that son of a bitch to hell!" He smiles and shows signs of recollecting what he said and then he nods. "Amen!" He smiles evilly and jumps onto his bed.

"And the Lord said unto the people, 'Ye must have thine joys,' "He makes up, " 'And ye shall have thine rock!' "He says in a mighty voice and turns his radio on. He flips with the dial until he gets to his favorite rock station. He grins in success and then cranks up the volume until the room vibrates with music.

He lies on his bed facing the ceiling while listening to the music. He shakes his head in the loose feeling of getting lost in the hypnotic tunes of rock and grabs his electric guitar from sitting in the corner.

A song ends and the DJ announces the next song, a new _Jet_ song.

The music starts and Murph turns the amps on and plays along with the song singing what parts he knows.

_  
" 1,2,3, take my hand and come with me  
because you look so fine  
and I really wanna make you mine."_

He strums down on the guitar._  
  
"I say you look so fine  
that I really wanna make you mine!"_

He jumps up on the bed playing the guitar when he feels the urge to create music._  
  
"Oh, 4,5,6 c'mon and get your kicks  
now you don't need that money  
when you look like that, do ya honey._

_Big black boots,"_

He kicks his foot up quickly as if showing off his "big black boots."

_  
"Long brown hair, "  
_

He runs his hand through his bottom-of-neck-long brown hair.

"_She's so sweet  
with her get back stare.  
Well I could see,  
you home with me,  
but you were with another man, yea!  
I know we,  
ain't got much to say,  
before I let you get away, yea!_

_I said, are you gonna be my girl?"_

He bangs his head with every new beat and then jumps back down onto the floor, landing in a bad way. He howls out in pain and throws his guitar onto the bed and slams down on the radio to turn it off. "Fuck!" He shouts and rubs his foot while hopping around on the other one trying to find the balance. He then trips over his stacks of CD's scattering them across the floor and him down with a crash. "Ow." He moans and then jumps to his feet and turns the radio back on and grabs his guitar.

It is a different song and one that he doesn't like at all so he just groans exasperatedly and shuts the radio off. He then reaches over and grabs his Discman with the huge ear pieces that cover his ears like giant earmuffs. Next he flips through the CD's on the floor and picks out a _Misfits _one. He puts it in place and pushes PLAY.

The music starts. He doesn't play the guitar but just moves his hands over it as if he were caressing a woman, every so often plucking one of the strings.

A knocking comes from the door.

He looks up towards his shut door and gets up glumly and trudges to the front door without bothering to put his guitar back or turn off the blasting music.

He opens the door.

A man wearing a suit is standing there. His sports jacket is pressed and ironed to perfection as is his neatly combed over hair. He wears glasses with very thin rims and a bright red bowtie choking his neck. Murph gazes at him in blank confusion and then at the manila folder tucked neatly under his right arm. Murph nods and then starts to close the door.

"Wait!" The man says briskly though to Murph it's only a small buzz behind the earsplitting rock. "Is your mother home?"

Murph takes off the phones and places them behind his neck. "Huh?"

The man sighs. "Is your mother there?"

He shakes his head and starts to close the door.

"Is your brother, Murphy, home?" He says regarding Murph's name printed on the folder.

He raises his hand in the bullhorns sign in a sign of presence. "Wazzup?"

"Uh—well, you're Murphy Franker?" He asks worriedly.

He nods and shuts the door fully and then bolts it shut.

"Wait, Murphy! Is your mother going to be home soon?" He bangs on the door continuously.

Murph laughs to himself and then turns his amps back on and positions his guitar. "Ya ready to rock?!" He shouts to the man who just stops his banging as if something has either caught his attention or he is in shock. Murph shuts off his Discman and raises his hand in a symbolic way before bringing it down and across the strings. He shouts raising his spirits and plays various chords and tabs until he has devised his own tune. While kicking some serious rock ass he jumps around the room sometimes onto the table sometimes onto the couch.

Suddenly the door is thrown open and his mother steps through followed by the man. Murph's current position is jamming down on the guitar while moving with the music on the couch so loud that he doesn't notice their presence.

His mother shakes her body with the music and drops a few bags of groceries on the counter and then hands the man a chair at the table. After a few minuets of watching him embarrass himself his mother flicks the lights off and on so fast that it catches his attention.

"Holy shit! The house is haunted--," He says entranced at the light's changes and turns down the amps. He then turns and sees his mother standing with her hand on her hip and the man sitting and staring. He blushes slightly and then drops the guitar onto the cushions. "Hey, ma."

"Hay is for horses," She says annoyed. "And I do _not_ want you cussin' anymore!" She snaps and then brushes her hair back behind her ears. "This man says you locked him out—"

"But he didn't say who he was and I was in the middle of rocking—"

"But I don't care, but that was some kick ass music, no—Murph, next time..." She waves her hand trying to find the right words. "You know what I mean! Now put that stuff away and go take a shower, your hair looks gross."

"I am gross, woman!" He says seriously yet in a joking manner. "I'm sick!"

"Now!" She yells and herds him down the hall towards the bathroom.

"Awww.... Maaaaaa....." He whines.

"Now or I'll take away the guitar—"She threatens and then snatches the guitar from his hand and then his Discman and muffs from his pocket. "And accessories."

He sighs and changes the subject, "You got a call."

"Who?" She asks surprised, forgetting about her threats and orders.

"Motherfucker," He says dully and moves away from her grasp.

"Murph!" She yells.

"It's true! My mother's fucker called." He grins as she slaps the back of his head. "Dad called, ma'am."

"I told you be nice to him!"

"No I hate him, he hates me—"

"No he doesn't—"

"Yes he does!" He swerves to meet her gaze and then storms off and into the bathroom. He locks the door quickly and then turns the faucet.

"You don't say things like that, mister!"

"Can't hear you, I'm taking a shower!" He yells teasingly and then throws all his clothes off but his boxers.

"Fine, fine, you lost all guitar privileges for a week unless you come out here and apologize," She says and bangs on the door which he soon slams open.

"I apologize, Mother, for my explicit and foul mouth," He says sarcastically and then slams the door shut again and locks it tight shut.

"Murph come on, he's you father!" She sighs and walks into the kitchen giving the man a hold-on-I'll-be-right-there finger.

"A hell of a good one he's been to me!" He argues and opens a small window that leads from the bathroom to the kitchen.

"Murph! You lost guitar!" She snaps and the opens her side of the window so that they are facing each other.

They stare at each other for all eternity, or so it seems, until he finally just slides the window shut again.

"What he do this time?" She sighs and begins to unpack the groceries.

"Nothing!" He shouts angrily and obviously avoiding the truth. He then plugs up the sink and lets the water fill until it's almost flooding out of the sink. Once that happens he dunks his head in the water and swirls it around causing dribbles of water to spill all over the floor. He stays there for a few moments and then throws his head back and letting his hair fly backwards and letting loose all the water onto the wall. Over the years of him doing this, the wall behind the sink has developed a huge stain spot. He shakes his head, like a dog would to his fur, and then combs his fingers through his hair and then steps from the bathroom leaving the pool of water in the basin and his clothes all over the white tile floor.

It is a very small bathroom only big enough to hold a shower squeezed next to a toilet and then a small sink. His mother has her own bathroom in her room and is very similar only hers has the extra room so it can hold a bathtub and her sink has a cupboard under it to hold all her unmentionables.

He pads half naked down the hall and into where the couch, table, and kitchen are. They call that the living room though it serves for three main purposes; to hold a couch and TV and stereo, to let a table sit on its floor, and as an entry 'court' to the kitchen. He steps towards the table and then grabs his still half-full cereal bowl from in front of the man.

"Murph, what he say?" She asks annoyed and steps in front of him who just sat onto the couch with the cereal bowl clasped in his hands eating away at it.

"Nothing important," He replies as if he is telling the truth.

She smiles wryly. "To you that can mean anything!"

"Nothing." He looks away from her and down at the cereal.

"Fine— I apologize, Mr. Jackson, for the delay..." She turns to the man, Mr. Jackson. "We just have a few family problems—"

"A few?!" Murph butts in and then turns on the TV. He surfs the channels and then picks out one with a cartoon show on it, The Simpsons.

"Murph!" She snaps exasperated. "Again, I'm sorry." She seats herself across the table from the man completely trying to ignore Murph's presence. "Now, what did you want to ask me again?"

The man coughs and clears his throat and pulls out his folder. "We at Horace Green Preparatory School have taken note of your son's, well, incredible performance at school—but I think I might have mistaken his records for a more eligible student—"

"You sayin' my little boy isn't smart enough for you just because he's a stubborn rocker?" His mom asks enraged and yet surprised at the man's bravery.

"Well—he does do quite well on tests, but poorly on work, and in behavior." He pauses to look at the entranced boy glaring at the television. "We are looking for well behaved and well mannered students." He stands and extends his hand and shakes her hand. "I apologize for the intrusion, good day to you." He turns and leaves towards the door.

"Now you do not come to my home looking for my GENIUS son and then say he's wild animal!!" His mother shrieks and stands in front of the door. "You tell your authorities that my boy is completely eligible for one of your preppy smart-assed schools! You tell 'em that!" She says forcefully and then shoves him out the door and throws his folder out after him.

Once he is out and she has locked the door she sits down on the nearest chair rubbing the sides of her pregnant belly.

Murph stares in blank confusion, drops the spoon into the cereal, the bowl in the sink, and he walks blankly to his room.


	2. a welcome surprise

**DISCLAIMER: i do not own SoR**

"Murph..." His mother taps on the door gently. "Murph... it's breakfast." She opens his bedroom door which has been covered with drawings and doodles of all kinds, most of them threatening messages to violators and praises to the gods of rock. She turns the painted black door knob and steps into his room. "Murph, come on, get up!" She says playingly and tickles the figure huddled up under his blanket sitting squarely in the center of the metal bed.

The figure groans slightly and then nudges her hand away.

"Fine, if you want it, come get it." She gives up and closes the door on her way out.

He pokes his head out from the blankets. With his headphones on (his mother had, on a whim, given them back to him for an apology of all the confusion) he trudges out to breakfast. Without looking at his mother he sits down at the table and takes a few burgers and a few buns (his mother never quite understood why kids couldn't eat burgers for breakfast). He squirts the gassy ketchup over the burgers and once the ceremony is completed he munches down on one.

His mother stares at him. "Well it sure is nice to eat with a silent boy, I always enjoy a good change," She says trying to make him feel bad. She then takes his other ready made burger and takes a jab out of it.

He notices.

He doesn't care.

"Want me to turn on the TV?" She says trying to get on his good side.

He hears.

He nods.

She gets up and wheels the TV and stand to in front of the table and then surfs the channels stopping at a station she knows he likes due to the tasteless humor and innumerable spoofs. One of the character marches around strutting around his brand new Rolex watch, Von Dutch hat, Ralph Lauren cologne, and Guess Jeans. Then while making fun of the other characters wearing for normal clothes a bus drives by and he is showered with grimy water.

His mother laughs trying to get him to laugh too. "Come on," She tries, "it's funny, Murph... ha, ha, ha?" She nudges him. "Fine, don't talk to me," She takes his plate from him, full of ketchup and crumbs of flakey buns.

He stands and picks up his bag from the corner and slips into his light up shoes. Once he is ready he grabs his headphones, puts them on, and goes down the hall back into his room where he finds his skateboard and helmet. He stands in front of the front door about to roll down the hall. He turns to his mother. "If I don't come back until after dinner, don't worry." He states and then jumps onto the board, flying down the hall.

"Bye!" She shouts after him and walks to close and bolt the door shut.

He rolls down and into the newly fixed elevator. No one else is in it. He puts one foot on the ground while the other stays ready to keep on skating. He pushes the ground button and waits for the elevator to get up its strength and start to convey itself to the next floor where it stops.

The doors open and a girl wearing a neatly ironed and pressed uniform steps in. She looks up at him briefly, blushes, and then pushes the already lit GROUND button. She steps back against the back wall of the elevator, next to him.

The doors open. An old woman steps into the elevator clutching her cane in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. She looks up. "Hello children."

"Hello." The girl replies pleasantly.

"Hey, Mrs. Goldstein." He recognizes her and takes off the blasting earphones.

"Well hello there Murph, how is your mother doing—oh, and your father is he alright, with that war and all. I do hope he comes back safely." She smiles and moves closer to him.

"We all do," He says trying not to shout out to the nice old lady that he hates his father, the grand old war hero, who left his boy before he was born to go fight in the army and never acknowledge his presence.

"So your mother, she's alright?" she asks concerned.

He nods and turns the music off.

"Is she not expecting?" She whispers.

He nods. Last time his father visited, months ago, her bedroom was so loud and exploding with gross statements (under the sexual pleasure genre), that he had trouble sleeping and had to listen to them all night!

"Is she having trouble with work and all that?"

"No ma'am, I've been helping her out at the restaurant," I said proudly.

"Well that's good," She nods and her gaze meets the girl's. "Is this your friend, Murph?" She doesn't wait for an answer, "She your girl friend?" She laughs full of herself.

"No Ma'am, I never saw her before." He answers starting to smile. "My girl's probably still asleep."

The girl in the elevator blushes.

"You know what some folk say?" Mrs. Goldstein continues.

He shrugs.

"Love at first sight!" She jokes and the doors open. "Well, it was nice talking to you." She steps out bent over her walking stick and walks away.

Murph lets the girl get out first and then steps back onto this skateboard and rolls down the lobby and out the door. Once outside he jumps down the few stairs that lead up to the old building and falls to the ground when the wheels first touch the cement. He gets up cussing his mind away and brushes off the dirt embarrassedly. The girl steps out of the building and hands him his skateboard which had flown backwards against the stairs.

"Thanks," He says and takes it from her hands.

"I'm new to the neighborhood; do you know where the Horace Green Prep School is?" She asks meekly.

He shakes his head. _Wait... that's the school that tie guy wanted me to go to. _"That some genius school?"

"Well, yeah I guess—but I hate thinking of it like that." She starts to walk as he gets back on his board and rolls down the street slowly so that she can keep up. "See, I just moved to that building, I always went to that school, but I'm not sure how to get there from here."

"That's a rich peoples' school," He states dully. "People in our building are the opposite of rich."

"My grandparents pay for tuition," She confesses.

He raises his eye brows in realization. "Well I don't know nothing about location, sorry."

"It's okay," She sighs and stops walking, her voice trembling and on the verge of tears.

He grunts exasperatedly and turns around. "Look, I don't know where it is?!" _Are all girls like this? Princesses who want people to do whatever they want them to do and to feel bad for 'em and listen to 'em--._

"I'm not blaming you it's just I have no idea where to go, my dad left for work before I woke up, so I didn't have time to ask him." She sniffles and then wipes her eyes.

"Well what should I do about it?!" He shouts angrily at her.

She shrugs and trudges down the street past him, not wanting to get involved anymore with this rude teen.

He groans and then holds her back. "Come on, I'll take you to the station, it's down the block." He takes her hand and jumps down from his board and then tucks it under his free arm.

She blushes at the touch of his sweaty palm and follows diligently.

They walk for just a few moments until he stops her and leads her up the stairs and into the dark building. He sits her down on a bench and then goes up to the large desk where a police man sits writing things down in a large records book.

"Excuse me, officer," He says respectfully.

The officer looks up and then down at Murph. "Can I help you?" He asks.

He nods and motions for the girl to come over. "She doesn't know where her school is from her new apartment."

The girl steps forwards shyly.

"I didn't know where it is either, so I brought her here."

The man yawns, "What's the name of the school?"

"Horace Green Prep," She answers and briefly points to a patch on her shirt with the schools sign on it.

The police man brings out a big book and flips through it. He stops at a map of the neighborhood and points to a label that marks the school's location. "Horace Green at the corner of Berryman and Orange?"

She nods.

"Alright, you take this street, Kerry, all the way down to Castle Road and then turn onto Berryman and then just go all the way down to Orange," He smiles warmly. "Think you can manage that?"

"Yes, thank you very much," She says gratefully and turns around.

Murph follows with his skateboard under his arm.

"Well thanks," She says to Murph and blushes a little. "I can get there by myself now." She turns in the right direction and walks away.

"See ya round sometime!" He calls after her.

She keeps walking but still turns around and smiles at him.

He turns around and jumps onto his board and before long he is at his school. He slides across the asphalt and up onto the sidewalk. Once he reaches the stairs he jumps off the board and walks up and into the building.

The kids are lined up in groups talking together and whispering and of course there is the occasional burst of laughter. He ignores them all since it's not that hard for him to tune people out. He walks up the stairs and down the next hall and then to his locker. He twirls the dial back and forth and when it fails to open he pounds his foot into it and it swings reluctantly open. He rummages through the crumples of failed papers and the occasional A on a test.

The truth is that he aces tests, but fails horribly on take home assignments of all the sorts. He feels it to be a waste of his time to actually spend time on homework. However, since he already has to take the tests, why not try to average his grades up a bit?

"Murph!" Chris Homer shouts from down the hallway. He's waving a torn piece of notebook paper in his hand and is jumping up and down excitedly.

Murph closes his locker and watches Chris fight through the crowds of kids getting to class. "What?" He asks once the excited boy reaches him.

He smiles broadly and shoves the paper in his face. "Read it!" He says like an excited child. He even has the eager look and the shaking to his body, too.

Murph peels the paper from his skin and holds it out in front of him. He reads, "6537 Main Street, at six," he pauses. "What the fuck you shoving in my face?"

"Ass," Chris laughs. "We got a gig!" He jumps up in the air.

Murph is stunned.

"WE got a gig!" He shouts so loud that the whole hallway is staring them down.

"Holy shit," Murph whispers still unable to grasp the fact that tonight him, Chris, and Chris's girlfriend Mona are going to get paid to play music.

"We gotta tell Mona, she'll die!" Chris laughs.

Murph smiles, "We got a gig." He repeats. "The Rabid Fish got a gig!" He says a bit louder with a waning grin.

The bell rings and the remaining students run to their classes.

Chris and Murph look at each other.

"Ditch?" Chris offers.

"What about Mona?" Murph asks.

Chris shrugs. "It's the half day before winter break, she's probably not coming."

"Well why don't we stay here then?"

Chris's eyes widened. Never had Murph actually suggested that they stay in school rather than go out and rock.

Murphy notices his perplexed expression and explains, "If I ditch anymore classes, my ma is gonna kill me. And besides I need to turn in my report before that bitchy teach fails me and sends me to summer school.

Chris sighs and walks with Murph to class.


	3. unwelcome surprise

**A/N Just wanted to say this: the band is going to come into the story in the next chapter. and it is mentioned in this one, so don't worry. **

* * *

"Good fucking riddance!" Murph shouts and jumps on his board just as they leave school.

"Wait up!" Chris calls from behind, riding as fast as he can to catch to him.

Murph looks behind and laughs evilly as he speeds up down the hill. The gravel crackles beneath the wheels and rocks fly into the street as they pass.

"Jerk!" Chris laughs and begins on his way downhill.

Several cars honk at them as they speed unannounced across the streets and nearly cause thousands of accidents (only one car hit a lamp post... a new record).

Murph decides to slow down and wait for his friend to catch up. "I can't believe they gave u that shitty test today!" He complains as soon as Chris is besides him.

He shrugs. "What ya gonna do? For some reason our IQ is important."

Murph spits onto the sidewalk as they turn the corner. "So where does she live?"

"Mona? Oh, she lives in an apartment building down the block," Chris says and points. As they roll down the block and come to the end of the street Chris jumps off his board, so Murph copies.

They walk across the street and come to the building and stop in front. Murph tilts his head up and sees a sign that reads: SCHOOL OF ROCK.

Murph stifles a laugh at the corny name and jumps off his own board. "Damn, they could've made it a better name than that... School of Rock?"

"Yeah, I asked Mona about that once and she just said that they're some preppy kids that got lucky and got a bunch of gigs," Chris informs and walks towards the staircase. "She's on the top floor, the band's on the first."

They start up the stairs and start to hear this awesome music. Chris sighs and keeps walking but Murph takes a minuet to enjoy. "That them?"

Chris shrugs. "Who gives a shit?"

They reach the top of the stairs and walk into a dark hallway. Chris leads him to her apartment. He knocks on her door.

No answer.

"Mona?" Chris calls and bangs a bit louder.

"Sleeping?" Murph says, giving her an excuse for not answering.

"Na, she doesn't sleep," Chris tells him and tries the knob. IT turns and the door lets them enter. Chris walks confidently into the place, but Murph is a little more hesitant, since he has never been here before.

Chris disappears down a hall and calls to Murph to come. He obeys and comes to Chris's aid as fast as he can. "What?" he asks.

Chris points to a door. The light in the room behind the door is on and leaving a beam of light to protrude into the hall from under the door.

"What?" Murph asks getting more worried.

"She's awake," He says simply.

"So, she's in the bathroom!"

"Yeah, but--."

They suddenly hear a shrill cry of pain and then a shattering of glass. They look to the floor to under the crack in the door and see water trickling into the hall stained with blood. They look up at each other and then ram against the door.

"MONA!" Chris shouts and tries to break off the knob, but has no luck so he runs to the kitchen and comes back with a butcher knife. He jams it into the door and cuts down making a slit in it. He pulls the knife out and does it again and again and again until he can see through. He smashes his head to the door and looks through the hole. Not even a second after he has seen through, he pulls away shaking and crying. He leans over and vomits onto the ground.

Murph doesn't know what to do. He stares confusedly and watches Chris run from the house. He himself starts to shake. He doesn't know what to do. He's scared. Should he look through or not? He doesn't want to leave though; he doesn't want to leave her. So he musters as much courage he can, and puts his eye to the small opening. He finally decides to open it partially and shakily and what he sees widens both of his eyes.

Mona is lying on the bathroom floor with a knife through her heart. Her arms are slit as are her legs. The bathroom is in shreds, complete shreds. The wall paper is barely hanging onto the wall, the mirror is shattered and has blood all over it, and the toilet bowl is smashed to bits, but what remains has some blood and vomit in it.

He pushes himself away from the door, reluctant to peel his eyes away from the destroyed corpse on the floor, and he runs down the hall. He soon finds himself at the front door. He looks back, briefly and sees an envelope on the table. He unwillingly goes back to it and shoves it in his pocket, seeing his name on it. He runs back to the door and out into the hall.

He jumps down the first flight of stairs and the second. He sees a puddle of barf on the stairs and stares.

_Don't barf... please. _He begs himself, but his stomach has gone through to much to hold in his lunch. It's spilled all over the stairs and he falls. He slides down the next flight of stairs and lands at the lobby of the building. He crumples himself into a ball and does all he can to hold himself together. He cries.


	4. familiar surprise

this is a looooong chapter... well, i think it is.

**BenjiILoveYou: **thanx for the review! b/c of u I'm actually gonna continue this thing... and yes Murph is a hottie!

on with the story!

* * *

Murph is still crumpled up on the floor when suddenly he hears a bunch of kids laughing and coming down the stairs. He doesn't bother to move. After a few moments he hears a girl scream _Ewww, barf! _And then others back her up and repeat that. He wipes away some tears and hides his face into his knees.

The voices make it down the stairs, still commenting on the barf, when they see a huddled figure lying smack dab in the middle of the floor. A blonde guy twirling drumsticks over his fingers walks over to him and nudges him with his foot. "Dude, are you alive?" The blonde guy asks.

The other kids keep their distance.

Murph manages to mutter a few words: "Leave me alone."

The blonde guy kicks him a bit harder this time. "Dude, get out of our way then!"

Murph lifts his hand and flicks the guy off.

Some of the girls giggle, but one steps out from the group and stands in front of Murph. "Well, I'm not letting him stand in my way." She informs and steps over his body.

The rest of the kids follow her example until the blonde guy is the only one left. As he lifts his foot over Murph, he purposely kicks him hardly in the front and then makes his way to follow the rest of the band out, but Murph grabs his leg and pulls himself to his feet and punches the blonde guy hard in the nose.

"Fuck off!" Murph shrieks at him and kicks him in the balls.

"Freddy!" A blonde girl cries and runs to the blonde guy's aid.

The rest of the band joins her and stands to his sides.

"Step off, dude!" a brown haired guy shouts to Murph.

"Why don't you step off?" Murph fights back. "Leave me alone!" He steps to the brown haired guy and takes a swing at him. For the scrawny boy Murph is, he can sure fight. The brunette falls back but a heavy black girl catches him and then punches Murph against the wall. She grabs him by his shoulders and pins him against the wall. "Let go!" Murph shouts.

"Listen to me, shit head," the girl starts, "You don't punch anyone in this band without getting punched yourself. Got it?"

Murph is silent.

"You tell him, Tomika!" the blonde girl cheers.

"Put me down," Murph says quieter with a lump in his throat.

"First tell the lady if you understand our policy?" a brunette girl says. She walks up to Tomika and stands at her side.

Murph lifts his head and sees the girl he helped this morning. "You?" He whispers.

"Murph, right?" She clarifies.

"None your fucking business," He mutters and spits on the ground.

Tomika pushes him to the wall harder. "Answer me!"

"Put me down!" He shouts.

"Answer her," the brunette says simply.

"Let me go!" He argues. He would have tried to break free, but seeing the mob of kids didn't look to easy to run away from.

"Answer--!" Tomika shouts back.

"Tomika!" An older guy yells as he jumps down the last few stairs. He pulls her away from Murph and then looks at him. "What the hell you guys doin?" He turns to the group of kids.

"He knocked out Freddy and Zack," the girl who first stepped over Murph informed.

"I don't care what he did, Summer, what are you guys doing?" He turns to the band. After some silence he shakes his head and looks to Murph. "You okay, dude?"

Murph doesn't answer.

"He was huddled up on the floor when we found him," Summer continues.

"Are you the one who was barfing all over the stairs?" the guy asks and points to the stairwell. "Too many chili cheese fries or what? We heard some screaming from upstairs--."

"It's none of your business!" Murph cries. He lost himself again begins to cry. "Just leave me alone--!"

The old guy clamps down on his shoulders, to keep him in place. "Do you know what was going on up there?"

Murph nods reluctantly.

"Is that kid okay—I think her name is Mona?" The guy asks.

Murph just cries harder and he slumps back to a huddle.

"Is she okay?" The guy repeats.

"NO!" Murph shrieks and bangs his head back against the wall. "She's dead!"

The kids gasp.

The old guy doesn't know what to say in light of this new information except for, "Did you kill her?!"

Murph stares at him as if he's crazy. "Me and my friend went to pick her up for our gig, but she's dead! She cut herself and killed herself and she's DEAD!"

The guy grabs him by the armpits and stands Murph up. "Dude where do you live?"

"Close by," He whimpers wiping away all the tears.

"Ok," The guy turns to the kids, "go to the van, I'll be there in a sec!" The kids obey without hesitation. "Dude, come on, we're going to go and call—the cops—no—hospital?—no cops'll do, come on!"

He takes Murph up the stairs and leads him to his own apartment. He tells Murph to sit down on a couch, so he obeys and waits. The old guy picks up the phone and dials 911. A few moments later he s talking again. "Hey, my name is Dewey Finn, and I just saw this kid in my apartment building and he says that this girl just committed suicide in her apartment, and I felt I should report that, because I don't know what else to do—oh the address is 1234 Main Street and..." He puts his hand over the receiver and asks Murph, "What number?"

"401."

"..Apartment 401... yeah, thank you very much. I just didn't know what else to do, I know I'm shocked, and the boy looked like he saw a ghost, so I just thought I should call you, and thanks for everything." He hangs up the phone. "Let's get going."

"Huh?" Murph asks confused.

"We're gonna drop you off at your place, let's go."

"Why?" He's stricken. Such kindness from a stranger. A possibly drugged stranger, but Murph dismisses the theory.

"That's what dudes do, we look out for each other, now let's go!" He herds Murph out and downstairs. By the time they reach the pavement a cop car has pulled up with an ambulance.

Murph stares blankly and remembers the envelope in his hand and shoves it into his pocket.

The guy notices the cops and pushes Murph in their direction. "Go tell them what you saw."

Murph winces but decides to go through with it. He trudges to the group of officials and stands there before them. "I'm the kid that saw her."

The cop steps forward with a pen and pad and is waiting for a story.

Murph sighs. "Me and my friend were going to pick her up, but when we got there we heard a scream and things breaking so we cut holes in the door so we could see what happened and she was dead," He says it monotonously.

"The door was locked?" The cop asks.

Murph nods.

"What's your name, address and number, please, so if we need to contact you we can."

"4321Berry Street apartment 904. 555-1234."

The cop nods and the paramedics and police file into the building. Murph watches and is then pulled away by the guy. "Come on, let it go."

Murph sighs and gets into the van. He sits quietly in the front seat, staring blankly out the window. For the next few blocks the van is silent, but the silence is broken by Murph. He shouts, "Stop!" The old guy slams on the breaks in the sudden shock.

"What's up, Dewey keep goin!" Freddy yells to the old guy.

"No, that's my friend!" Murph exclaims and points to Chris who is sitting on the curb with a cigarette in between his lips. He looks so pale and sick. Dewey pulls the van over in front of Chris.

Murph rolls down his window and calls his name.

He lifts his head up and glares at him, with tears flowing freely from his eyes.

"Chris, get in," Murph instructs trying to not cry.

He shakes his head and puffs on the cig.

"Dude!" Murph says shakily.

"No," Chris cries and gets up.

"He said no, now let's get going!" Freddy shouts annoyed.

"Hold on," Dewey shushes him.

"Chris, please get in the van, for Mone?" Murph bribes.

Chris stops in his tracks and runs to the van. He throws his arms around Murph and they cry.

The van stops in front of Murph's apartment building. Chris, who had been sitting on the floor in front of Murph, gets up and jumps out of the car, he turns and waits for Murph.

"Dude," Dewey says before he gets out, "if you wanna come jam with us, you can--."

"We don't need your help," Murph mutters coolly and jumps onto the pavement. He points to the brunette girl. "Apartment 904, Murph Franker. If ya wanna come up, the door's open."

"804, Katie. If ya wanna apologize," the brunette girl replies.

He shrugs and closes the door. Chris digs into his pocket and hands Murph a cigarette and then a lighter and they smoke, watching the van trying to get back into the flow of the traffic. The van gets an opening, but a car parks itself in front of it and blocks the passage. Chris starts to laugh, but Murph stares blankly.

"Murph!" His mother shrieks as she gets out from the car that blocked the band. She grabs her purse from inside the car and rushes to the two boys.

Murph throws the cigarette into the street quickly as does Chris.

"Murphy Franker, what the hell is wrong with you? You take a ride home from a stranger and start smoking?!" She slaps his face.

"Ma!" Murph whines angrily and rubs his cheek.

"It's not his fault, Sherry, I gave it to him--," Chris tries to lift the punishment from his friend.

"I don't care, Chris, he was smoking, and you just wait until I tell your mother!"

"Ma, listen!" Murph yells trying to get her attention.

She puts her hand on her hip. "What? You have an explanation?"

"Sherry Franker?" Dewey says from the window. "I'm no stranger!"

His ma turns his gaze to the van and then back to her son and his friend. "You got a ride home from my high school hottie?" She smiles widely and ruses to the van which has parked itself along the curb by this point (this had caused the band members to groan in frustration). "Dewey Finn is that you?" She laughs and leans in through the window.

"In the rockin flesh!" He laughs with her. "God, look at you! A kid?"

She blushes and her tone lessens in excitement. "Yeah, remember George?"

"The hard ass geek?" Dewey teases.

"Yeah, but he at least did something other than rock all day. And he sold his _classical_ guitars for money to buy me a ring." She shows him her small diamond stud ring.

"Would you tell Picasso to sell his guitars?" Dewey jokes.

Sherry laughs. "Please tell me you don't still use that excuse!"

"Only sometimes," Dewey smiles. "So what you been up to all these years, Sher?"

She points to Murph. "I work at a restaurant and then come home to Murph."

"What about George?" Dewey asks, mocking the last word.

She sighs. "He's in the army, off in Iraq."

"Serving the man," Dewey says coldly, but still with a smirk on his face. "And what do we do kids?" Dewey turns back to the School of Rock.

"We stick it to the man," They all say dully in unison.

Sherry leans in and looks at them. "You've been busy." Dewey looks confused, so Sherry clears it up for him, "Who are they?"

He wipes the confusion from his face and answers, "Oh, they're my band—The School of Rock."

She tries not to laugh. "What happened to Maggot Death? Is Ned still cross-dressing?"

The kids laugh.

"No," Dewey sighs sadly, "Maggot Death died a while ago."

"Is Ned still alive?" Sherry asks worriedly.

"Yeah, we share an apartment, where me and the kids rock out after school--," He says informatively, with a sense of trying to show off.

"So you guys are seriously a band?" She laughs.

"Ha ha ha," Dewey pretends. "Yeah, totally. Let me introduce to you... Freddy our awesome drummer. Zack attack, our guitarist. Katie also known as Posh, our bassist. Lawrence the _coolest _piano man around! And our singers, Tomika, Marta, and Alicia." He smiled and then realized the business-type girl sitting right behind him. "Oh, and this is Summer, our band manager."

She nods her head and steps back from the window. "Murph plays, too, did I tell you? I gave him your old Fender--."

"What?!" Dewey almost shrieks the words, "That was for you, man!"

She shrugs. "He has more use for it than I do. It doesn't play the same—not since you left anyways."

Dewey sighs and quiets himself up. "But, Maggot Death was actually going on tour, girl, I didn't know you still wanted me around, I could've stayed if you told me to."

"You should have thought about that fourteen years ago." She rubs the side of her belly and puts her hands on Murph's shoulders. "Bet he kicks your ass at playing that old thing anyways."

Dewey loosens up a bit and smiles. "I invited him to come jam with us, but he didn't wanna—the other kid too..."

"What about that girl, Mona, can she come too, I know she'd love that--."

Murph shrugs her hands away and walks over to Chris, who has seated himself on the curb once more, looking glumly into the city traffic.

Dewey is slashing his hand across his throat.

"What?" Sherry asks bewilderedly.

Dewey points to the two boys on the sidewalk. "They should tell you." He looks back to the band. "Summer!"

"What now?" She asks frustrated.

"Hook me up with a card!" He snaps his finger impatiently until she finally gives him a band business card. He hands it to Sherry. "Just so ya know the number."

Sherry shoves the card in her pocket and waves bye. "See ya round?"

He smiles. "Yeah, sure." With that, he turns the van back on, and gets his opening. Soon, the band is far out of sight.

Sherry walks slowly over to the boys and kneels down in front of them. "What happened?"

Chris's lip trembles and he hides his head in between his knees and starts to cry once more. Murph lets a few tears roll down his cheeks and he tells her what happened.

* * *

R&R pretty pleeze! if ya don't there will be no more chapters, so hahahahha. 


	5. just some funky lil chap, I don't have a...

**DUDES WHO REVIEWED SO FAR KICK SERIOUS ASS!!!!!!!!!!**

**Pyro and rock 'n' roll babe:** thanx for the review!

I am gonna try and update this thing every so often, but sometimes, there will be bigger breaks in between chaps, so heads up!

Onwards, enjoy....

DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Adam's Song" by Blink 182, but I do own Chris and Murph and anything else original, so ha! try and sue me now!!!!!! ;-)

* * *

Chris and Murph are lying down in Murph's room. It's way passed midnight and is pitch-black in the small apartment. Well, except for in his room. He has his red lava lamp turned on and it leaves an orangey glow to illuminate the small room. His stereo is silently playing various songs off a burnt mix CD that they made a few years back.

Chris is huddled up in his sleeping bag on the floor and starts to cry softly.

"Come on," Murph says hoarsely, breaking the silence. "She's gone."

He sniffles. "I know," He sits up "It's this song."

Murph pays more attention and remembers. This was one of the first songs that Rabid Fish played together. Blink 182's _Adam's Song. _

_I never thought I'd die alone  
I laughed the loudest who'd have known?  
I trace the cord back to the wall  
no wonder it was never plugged in at all  
I took my time, I hurried up  
the choice was mine I didn't think enough  
I'm too depressed to go on  
you'll be sorry when I'm gone  
  
I never conquered, rarely came  
16 just held such better days  
days when I still felt alive  
we couldn't wait to get outside  
the world was wide, too late to try  
the tour was over, we'd survived  
I couldn't wait till I got home  
to pass the time in my room alone  
  
I never thought I'd die alone  
another six months I'll be unknown  
give all my things to all my friends  
you'll never step foot in my room again  
you'll close it off, you'll board it up  
remember the time that I spilled the cup  
of apple juice in the hall  
and please tell mom this is not her fault  
  
I never conquered, rarely came  
but 16 just held such better days  
days when I still felt alive  
we couldn't wait to get outside  
the world was wide, too late to try  
the tour was over, we'd survived  
I couldn't wait till I got home  
to pass the time in my room alone  
  
I never conquered, rarely came  
tomorrow holds such better days  
days when I can still feel alive  
and I can't wait to get outside  
the world is wide, the time goes by  
the tour is over, I've survived  
I can't wait till I get home  
to pass the time in my room alone._

The song ends and the two let out held breaths.

After some awkward silence Chris asks quietly, "Think she was listening to that when she did it?"

Murph shrugs. "Maybe."

They sit quietly listening to _Pain for Pleasure, _the next track on the CD, by Sum 41.

"Chris?"

Chris opens his puffy eyes. "Yeah?" He's calmed down a lot since the afternoon, but his eyes are still watery now and then.

Murph sighs and gets out a Sharpie. He stands up on his bed and finds a blank piece of paper. He writes something on it and then tapes it amongst the many other pieces of paper on his wall.

Chris reads it aloud, "RIP Mona. The AWESOMEST bassist on the face of the fucking earth." He smiles and then sees the date at the bottom. Murph signs his name at the bottom and then throws the marker to Chris. He gets up and scribbles his name next to Murph's.

He lies back down on his sleeping bag. "We should call _Adam's Song_, Mona's Song." He looks up to wait for Murph's reaction.

Murph smiles. "Okay."


	6. surprise surprise

THANX TO:

**BenjiILoveYou**,** olivetree1**, **pYrO and rock'N'roll bAbE** ,and **PINKtink99**: thanx for the reviews u guys!

anywhoo... this one gets a bit interesting... i think....

* * *

Murph rolls out of bed and onto the floor. The mid-morning sun peeks into his room through the billowy rain clouds outside. It's the fifth day of winter-break... five days after Mona died. Chris and Murph haven't spoken since he left after their little sleepover that horrible day. 

Murph yawns and walks down the hall to the kitchen. His mother is sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea (she had on a whim given up coffee until the baby would be born). "Morning, hun," She says amiably when he walks past her.

He grunts a greeting of recognition.

She stands up. "Want me to make you some breakfast?"

He stops what he is doing (picking out some cereal) and nods.

She smiles nervously and rushes to the kitchen. "How about burgers? Or do you want cheesy eggs, or pancakes?" She drones on with more suggestions.

He stares at her. She never makes him breakfast unless something bad happened.

She chooses eggs for him and begins preparing and making them. He sits down at the table and watches. "So, did you sleep good?" She asks in a conversational tone.

He looks at her strangely and nods.

She nods back and grabs a plate from the cabinet. She flips the omelette onto it and jabs a fork into the center. She then walks briskly over to him and slides it in front of Murph. He hesitates before eating, but then remembers how hungry he is, and wolfs it down.

She smiles. "So, tonight's Christmas?"

He looks up from his food and points to their small plastic tree in the corner and then to the mistletoe in every doorway.

She laughs without sincerity, "I was just making sure you knew."

He drops his fork into his food and slams his hands down on the table. Ever since the incident he has lost all willingness to be patient. "What the hell happened?"

She sighs. "George's coming home for the holidays."

He slumps down in the chair.

"I knew you'd be upset, so--."

"You sweetened it up. Reminded me it was Christmas, made me breakfast, acted like you care! I get it, I know you, Ma!" He shouts at her.

"You know what," She yells back, "He's your father, live with it!"

He snorts, "We have nothing in common! He doesn't have one thing on his body that looks like something I have—I don't know how the hell we're even related!"

Her cheeks redden and her eyes get a bit watery. "Murph, I've told you a thousand times, he IS your father and he DOES love you--!" She emphasizes FATHER.

"Yeah right!" Murph himself is almost in tears.

"You know what Murph, I won't lie to you anymore! If it makes you happier he's not--!" She shouts with out thinking.

The door is suddenly thrown open and there stands the one person on the planet who Murph would have no problem killing.

"...your FATHER!" She shrieks the last bit of the sentence.

Murph sits there in shock. He's not sure if she said it to get him off her case or what, but he is in complete shock and confusion.

"What about me, Sher?" Mr. Franker says sweetly to his wife and goes over to her.

"I missed you," Sherry says warmly, but to Murph even she doesn't seem like she means it. She gives him a quick peck on the lips and then squeezes him tightly to her. They laugh together and then part. "Here, put your stuff in my room, and I'm gonna make breakfast—Murph, go help him, would ya?" She looks over her shoulder with a smirk on her face, as if nothing had ever slipped her lips.

"I have to go--," he says miserably.

"Go where, kido? I just got here," His 'father' says almost mockingly and rustles the boy's shaggy hair.

Murph stands up, swats the _man's_ hand away, and storms down the hall. Or at least tries to, since _George_ grabs him by the arm and pulls him back.

"Go where?" His voice is hard and cold as ice. But ice melts, and can be broken.

Murph thinks for a few moments on a response, a good one, one that would leave a mark; one that would hurt the bastard and tell him that he hates him, one that Murph could actually say and not feel like it was too little or too much. He narrows his eyes and clenches his fists and replies slowly and audibly, "Away from you."

Mr. Franker drops the boys arm and pushes him away. "Then go on, get outta here!" He shouts with a wicked smile on his ugly face.

Murph pulls himself together and stomps down the hall to his room. A few minuets later he emerges fully dressed in a pair of torn up old jeans, a pair of cruddy old sneakers, and a black T-Shirt with the words 'Fuck-off!' scribbled onto it. Hanging from his back is his Fender and his mini-amp pack is hooked onto his belt. He walks over to a corner and grabs his skateboard out from under a couch and he slides it across the floor with is foot.

Mr. Franker turns to Sherry in disgust, "You let him out of the house in this?"

Sherry is taken aback slightly and has a meek tone to her voice, "Well, if I used to do it, why can't he?"

"Yeah, why can't I?!" Murph yells angrily at him. "Are you ashamed of me, huh? You embarrassed to be seen around a kid who has 'bad' words on his shirt? _Her_ kid? Well, read the shirt Georgey, FUCK OFF!" In a flash, he sprints from the room with his board under his arm, and he jumps off the balcony.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

who thinx he's dead???? hmmm.......

who thinx they know who the reeeel daddy is??? if ya do... DON'T tell! email me ur guess and I might add u into m'story!


	7. new friends surprise

**Kathryn Merlin: **sorry, u only reviewed the first chap, and i 4got to add u in.. sowy... and what does that mean that this story is a lot like me????

**Olivetree1: **ur rite, he's not dead! u win a 1000 goldfish for guessing if he'd die or not... ;-)

**To everyone else: **thanx to those who reviewed....

**Disclamier: I don't own Dysentary Gary (spelling???) by Blink 182....**

* * *

He collects himself from the fall and scrambles down the steps of the fire escape until he has reached ground level. He throws his board onto the ground in frustration and watches it roll down the sidewalk.

He trudges after it and finally decides to get on it. He skates down the next few blocks, not sure of where he wants to get away to; at least somewhere to last him the week. He passes by that preppy school and stops to get a better look.

_Ugly and stupid. _HE thinks and sits down on the pavement. He digs into his pocket and pulls out a small pocket knife, with pieces of lint stuck in between the blades. He shrugs and lets the blade slash across his upper arm. He winces a little, but then is satisfied. He has dug the Anarchy symbol into his skin. He smiles through brief tears and gets up. He doesn't do anything else dangerous, he just keeps on going. Trying to find a place where he can just get a away to for the holiday. The street takes him back into his neighborhood, so he decides to go back in the direction of Mona's place. Maybe he'll be able to get something of hers... they were each others' first dates... maybe he'll get her bass. Chris would get that, probably, so Murph decides to not get his hopes up.

He gets to the building and jumps off his board. He tucks it under his arm and starts the journey up the stairs. A fast beat song fills the stair well. "The School of Rock," he mutters under his breath. He stops at the first floor and considers going in. He looks up the stairs. Nothing up there is going to lead to a happy ending, only to more tears.

A heavy sigh escapes his lips as he turns towards the door and steps through. He walks down the hall and presses his ear to each door until he finds the right one. Murph stands there for a moment and knocks on it.

A moment passes and then another, so he kicks the door three times. This time someone answers him and opens it. It's another old guy, somewhere around his mother's age. His hair is a pale orange and his skin is fair. "Can I help you?" He says meekly and unsure of himself. Murph watches the man's eyes scan across his shirt and then jolt back up to Murph's face.

"Is a Dewey Finn here?" He asks tiredly and runs his hand through his hair.

The guy nods and turns is head over his shoulder. "Dewey!" He calls and motions for the guy to come over.

Dewey rushes over and jumps over a guitar case lying on the floor. "Hey, Murphy!" He grins widely. "Ned, this is Sherry's kid, Murph this is Ned..." He tries his best to introduce the two.

Ned nods and shakes Murph's hand, "Nice to meet you." He smiles and then goes back inside the apartment.

Dewey turns to Murph. "So why you here?"

Murph shrugs. "To get away from the hard ass geek, George."

Dewey tries not to smile, so he does this weird thing with his eyebrows. "Well," he catches a glimpse of the Fender, "I see you have my old friend with you."

Murph nods and swings it around to his front. "Interesting, how did this get here?" He smiles stupidly.

"Do you wanna come jam with us then? After, we're having a Christmas party, and any son of my ex-girl friend is welcome here."

Murph considers and then shrugs. "Beats running away." He walks in and Dewey closes the door.

He leads him into the apartment and to the band. "Listen up!" He announces, "You all remember Murph," He puts his hand on the boy's shoulders, "Well he's gonna jam with us today and part-ay." He points over to the brunette boy, Zack. "Go stand over near Zack Attack and plug in."

Murph obeys slowly, due to the fact every eye in the room is on him.

Zack is nice enough to break the silence. "Whoa, is that a Fender?"

Murph stands up and swings the guitar to his front side. "Yeah," he points to Dewey. "It was his though."

Dewey moves his mouth up and down, mocking Murph's words like a child would do. "Enough! Let's get rockin!" He grabs a guitar lying on the couch and slings the strap over his shoulder. "K, let's see what you can do... what's a song with a good intro...?" Dewey rubs his head thinking of a song. "Whatever, play me something!" He slams his hands together excitedly over and over and over again.

Murph shrugs and gets his pick off his chain bracelet. He starts playing _Adam's Song_—Mona's Song—and no sooner then he stars, he is stopped.

"Dude, Blink 182 is not rock!" Freddy shouts angrily.

Murph smiles. "So what?"

"Well that's not a rock song, that's a cutter song!" he fights back.

Murph shrugs and shows him his skin carving. "Maybe I'm in a cutting kinda mood."

"Dude, you have problems," Freddy mumbles.

"Dude, you don't know the half of them, so why don't you just fuc--!" Murph says angrily and defensively, about to sock the dude's head off.

Freddy shuts up and Dewey shakes his head disgustedly. "Ok, dude, just play a song."

Murph thinks for a moment and then smiles. "Would you like lyrics?"

Dewey shrugs carelessly and does his snapping of his fingers, indicating he's impatient at the moment, and therefore indifferent.

Murph takes in a deep breath and begins strumming down on his guitar to the notes of _Dysentery Gary. _

_Got a lotta heart ache  
He's a fuckin' weasel  
His issues make my mind ache  
Wanna make a deal  
  
'Cause I love your little motions  
You do with your pigtails  
What a nice creation  
Worth another night in jail  
  
He's a player, diarrhea giver  
Tried to grow his hair out, friends were listening to Slayer  
I'd like to find him Friday night  
Hanging out with mom, trying on his father's tights  
  
Life just sucks, I lost the one  
I'm giving up, she found someone  
There's plenty more  
Girls are such a drag  
  
So all you little ladies  
Be sure to choose the right guys  
You'll come back to me maybe  
I'll shower you with lies  
  
Got a lotta heart ache  
He's a fuckin' weasel  
Decisions make my mind ache  
Wanna make a deal  
  
Ease away the problems and the pain  
The girl chose the guy that makes you wanna kick and scream  
All along, you wish that she would stay  
Fuck the guy that took and ran away, yeah  
  
He's a player, diarrhea giver  
Tried to grow his hair out, friends were listening to Slayer  
I'd like to find him Friday night  
Hanging out with mom and trying on his father's tights  
  
Life just sucks, I lost the one  
I'm giving up, she found someone  
There's plenty more  
Girls are such a drag  
  
Fuck this place, I lost the war  
I hate you all, your mom's a whore  
Where's my dog?  
'Cause girls are such a drag_

He finishes and smiles. For the first time in a few days, he feels like it. He feels happy. It's the effect Blink 182 songs have on him, they make him smile. He doesn't understand why, the music and lyrics combined just make a person wanna laugh and smile. Sure, some are sad and depressing, but he doesn't feel sad or depressed at the moment, he feels happy, so he smiles.

Dewey nods solemnly. "You kick ass out of that guitar, and I don't even know what that song is, but you kicked it's punk ass!" He calms down, "I salute you." He bows and then gets up clapping like a maniac with wide, budging eyes.

"Now can we play some real music?" Freddy complains and gets some nods of agreement from the rest of the band.

Dewey scratches his head and shouts in excitement, "_Edge of Seventeen_!" He turns to Murph, "To your positions, to your positions!"

The kids jump up from where they had been sitting and rush over to their equipment. Three girls run to three mikes, the bassist stands at her place next to the guitarist, and the drummer pulls drumsticks from his shirt. Murph stands on Zack's other side waiting for something to do.

"One, two, one, two, three--!" Dewey counts down and the band rocks out to the Stevie Nicks song.

When they're done, Dewey smiles triumphantly. "Now that's a perfectly decent rock song!" He smiles as do a lot of other kids in the band.

Murph shrugs. He hadn't done anything. He doesn't really like Stevie Nicks, so he never read up into their music.

"Dude," Dewey says after he catches his breath, "what's up, why didn't you play?"

Murph shrugs again and more visibly. "I hate her," he says bluntly.

Freddy sighs and shakes his head in disgust. "Dude, make up your mind... good rock, or bad rock... pick!"

Murph steps closer to him and flicks him off. "Crappy punk since 1992... Blink all the way."

"Dudes, stop the tension!" Dewey laughs and stands in between them.

Freddy looks away, and slowly goes back to tapping away at his drums. Murph moves closer to the wall, and farther from the rest of the band.

"Now that's what I'm talkin about, keep your distance, stop the fighting," he says with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Make love not war!!"

Freddy scowls, but Murph smirks an dpoints to Katie, "Only if I can do it with her."

Katie's face blushes wildly and she turns her head away. Freddy gets up from his seat and pushes Murph against the wall. The kids all circle around them, and carefully break them apart before either can knock the other guy out. Katie sits shyly in a corner and watches from a distance.

There's a knock on the door. Ned, the blonde dude, goes shyly to answer it. Moments later he comes back into the apartment with a stack of steaming hot pizzas. "Guys, come n' get it!"

The kids all run to get their lunches, but Murph stays behind and decides to tune his guitar by ear. Once Dewey notices that he's not sitting with the kids around the table, he rushes over to him.

"So," he says trying to start a conversation, "how's Sher?"

Murph shrugs carelessly.

"Dude," he sighs, "what's up? Sherry never cut herself and she had a pretty screwy childhood too, what's with the cuts, man?"

Murph shrugs again. "I dunno..."

"Cuz if you wanna talk to me about something, ya can, I kinda figured George would be pretty hard fatherly figure to talk to..." Dewey trails the last few words off when he notices Murph is laughing. "What's so funny?"

Murph sighs and then looks up at the strange old rocker with a beaming face. "He ain't a dad of mine!"

Dewey's face changes... drastically. "What?"

Murph laughs aloud and then jumps to his feet. "That ain't my dad!" he jumps up in celebration. "The fucking bastard can burn, and I have now have a hell of a good reason to not give a shit!" He laughs and falls down to the ground with a loud _thump._

The band briefly looks over, but is more interested in their pizza.

"Then who is?" Dewey asks cautiously.

Murph shrugs carelessly. "I don't care, as long as it's not him!" He laughs giddily.

Dewey shakes his head impatiently just trying to steer clear of that subject... for the moment, "Well tell me about the cuts--!"

"No, mind your own fucking business!" Murph retorts and gives him the evil eye.

Dewey sighs and raises his hands in defeat. After a few moments of silence he tries again by saying, "Well if you don't wanna talk to me, talk to the teen help line..." he picks up the phone and dials a phone number.

"I don't wanna talk to them!" Murph shouts as Dewey shoves the phone into his hands and then gets up and runs away. Murph sighs and lets the phone ring a few times.

"Hello," the other end of the line says. "Welcome to Teen Help Line. We are here to help all teens with their problems, anonymously. Press the number button that corresponds to the topic which you would like help with. 1: Family problems. 2: drinking and alcohol. 3: sex and sexual harassment. 4: drugs. 5: smoking. 6: emotional problems. 7: social problems..." Murph lets the recording drag on until he decides to pick the miscellaneous one. After a few more rings a woman answers the phone. "Hello you've chosen 'miscellaneous', do you wanna just talk or ask me questions or advice... you tell me."

Murph sighs into the receiver. "A guy told me to call."

Pause. "Is there a reason, because if you do not want my help, then there are other teens that do."

"I cut myself," Murph says bluntly and vaguely.

She sighs. He can only imagine a girl around his mother's age rubbing her head, trying to think of reasonable advice for her screwed up baby boy. "Well, was there a specific reason--?"

"I was confused," He says without thinking. "My friend Mona just killed herself, and my ma's pregnant, and I hate my dad, but I just found out he's not my dad at all."

She takes in another breath and decides on a good response. "Well, maybe you and your mom should sit down and have a long talk about things. Does she know you cut?"

"No... I don't think."

"Well, you have got to pull her away and just talk with her. Tell her how you feel, tell her what you do. Spend sometime with her and get to know her better. Just bond."

Murph nods. "Thanks," he whispers. "I'll try that.... Can I cal you back?"

"Of course. If you want to talk to me directly, you call (800) 555-1234 x 34."

Murph smiles to himself, a bit relieved and hangs up. He starts to fold the paper with the number on it.

Freddy walks over with a plateful of pizza and chips and grabs the paper out of his hands. "What's this?" he reads it. "You got the teen number? Ha! You must have some serious problems--!" He makes fun of Murph and throws the crumpled slip into Murph's lap.

"Well, you must too if you know the number." He smiles trying not to laugh at his kick ass response.

Freddy shuts up and turns back towards the rest of the band.

* * *

that is not the real # for the TEENLINE, i don't know any of the details about it, so what I wrote here may be total bullsht... they may have some otehr system or somthin...

**anyways, I got a question for all yous out there, please give me an answer...**

**do u think i should up the rating to R? if so, tell me, so i don't get in trouble!**

PS if ya wanna be a bit more helpful, in ur review tell me what u like and what u didn't, so i get some ideas...

thanx ya'll!

Marcy!!!


	8. freaky surprise

**Sorry for the very loooong wait... i am desperatly fiting writers block and have posted this on a whim... personally, it's not my fave chap... tell me if ya like or not!**

**Marcy XD**

Dewey walks slowly away from the rest of the band and runs down the hall and into the bathroom. He is jittery and jumpy, as he fumbles around with the lock, until he is finally sealed away from the rest of them. He takes his cell phone out of his pocket and dials a number. He paces around impatiently, biting his nails on his left hand.

"Hello?" he hears someone say on the other line.

"Sherry how could you keep this from me?!" He shouts at the top of his lungs.

"What?" She says worriedly.

He says softer, realizing that the kids might hear him, "The kid!"

Silence.

"Sherry!"

She sighs. "Dewey… I… you… you left--," She tries to explain.

"You should've told me!" He whines and slumps down the door and sits with his legs sprawled across the bathroom floor.

"You looked so happy," she says.

"But my kid?!"

"You were finally going on tour!"

"So what…"

"I didn't wanna be the one to ruin it for you… and then get blamed for it twenty years later…"

"Sher I wouldn't do that!" He bangs his head back and shuts his eyes.

She takes in a deep, shaky breath on her end. "Dewey, do you wanna tell him for me--us?"

He shakes his head impatiently and stutters a lot of things before saying, "Sure whatever, we'll talk later." He turns the phone off and bangs his back against the door. "Dammit!" He puts his face in his hands and then slowly stands back up. He takes a deep breath to steady himself and then faces the door. "Murph?" He laughs. "I'dve named him Kurt!" (a/n for those of u who don't know much about rock… KURT Cobain!!!!)

He walks out into the hall and then sits down on the couch next to Murph. "Hey dude," He whispers.

"hmm…" Murph says while, still, fixing up his guitar.

"Can I like talk to you for a minute?"

He looks up. "Sure???" He gives the dude an odd look which makes Dewey melt inside. He has a kid like almost exactly like him! And he was denied the right to know and raise him.

Dewey takes in a deep breath and then slowly explains, "Dude, ya see, George isn't your dad, and I think you have the right to know who your real dad is, and--…"

"Out with it, come on!" Murph says impatiently. HE builds his hopes up and waits for the glorious moment to hear that this rocker is his real dad!

"Well, you're dad is—NED!!!" He jolts his head over to his shy friend who is trying to put out this huge fire on the stove. Dewey calms down a bit when the fire is extinguished by Freddy, who is unafraid of fire, goes near it and pours the fish tank water all over it. The flames die and Dewey looks at Murph.

"Ned?" Murph repeats depressed.

Dewey realizes what happened. "Uh—yeah--."

"Figures…" Murph says and storms from the apartment.


End file.
